Protect Your Kids From RSV

Winter is my less favorite season. I hate it with passion and for many reasons. It’s cold and dangerous. The roads get dangerous. So not only do you have to protect your kids from getting cold and hurt but you also have to take extra precaution to help prevent them from getting sick. Did you know that 82% of U.S. children from ages six weeks to six years old spend some time in child care? Can you imagine all the sickness that gets spread?

One of the scariest sickness is RSV. Which is respiratory syncytial virus.This is the scariest sickness and the reason is  that there is no treatment. That’s why it’s so important that you need to be extra careful and one of the ways to do that is be prepared and do your research to know what to watch for and how to prevent it. My son spent his first week of life in the NICU because of fluid in his lungs. The nurses informed me that he was at a high risk to catch RSV and that I needed to be extra careful. At that time I lived in North Dakota and he was born in January.  We didn’t leave the house unless we had to. I was scared and wanted to do everything in my power to protect him from RSV. So back then I did a lot of research on RSV so I can be well-informed and know what to do. I can stress enough the importance on doing your own research. Knowledge is power. One great site I found on RSV is RSV Protection.

Here are some important facts that I found while doing my research:

It affects two-thirds of all infants by age one and almost a HUNDRED percent by age two. It is very contagious. It’s very popular during November to March.

During these times you should watch for signs of RSV. Such as:

• coughing or wheezing that does not stop
• fast or troubled breathing
• spread-out nostrils and/or caved-in chest when trying to breathe
• bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
• fever (especially if it’s over 100.4 in infants under three months of age)

Some prevention measures are:

• look into in home care (nannies)
• wash your hands
• clean toys, blankets, sheets, door knobs
• avoid crowds and sick children during Nov-March.

No one can protect your child better than you. I hope what I shared with you today helped you learned a little more about RSV and how to prepare and prevent it. My best advice in the winter if you don’t have to go out then don’t. Sickness (not just RSV) is the worst during the winter.

How do you help protect/prevent your child from getting sick? Is there anything you have a question about? I will do my best to help you find your answer.

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of MedImmune and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”